The proposed bill would update current statutes by prohibiting monopoly utilities with a defined customer base from passing through costs related to marketing, partnerships, advertising, community relations, sponsorships, or similar activities to their customers. This ... aims to protect consumers from these financial burdens. Additionally, the bill introduces new annual reporting requirements for these utilities, mandating them to report their marketing and related expenses to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Utilities must also attest in their reports that these expenses were not passed on to customers and make the reports publicly accessible on their websites. The definition of a "monopoly utility with a defined customer base" is clarified to refer to utilities with exclusive service authority in a specific area. In relation to school district budgets, the bill proposes new language that allows unified school districts to request new override authorizations for one or more budget years based on their combined revenue control limit after unification, replacing existing override authorizations. It clarifies that if a proposed budget exceeds the aggregate budget limit for any budget year, the governing board must order an override election at least ninety days prior to the election date and mandates the preparation of an alternate budget that does not exceed the allowed increase. The bill also modifies definitions and procedures related to budget years, allowing for a two-year budgeting process and ensuring that any expenditures made before the adoption of the budget are included in the total expenditures for the current year. Overall, these changes aim to streamline the budgeting process for school districts and provide clearer guidelines for budget increases and elections.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 15-448, 15-481, 15-901, 15-905, 15-915, 42-12003, 42-12001, 15-912.01, 15-482, 15-457, 15-458, 15-943, 16-204, 15-422, 15-423, 15-424, 15-426, 15-403, 15-947, 15-949, 15-971, 15-447, 15-901.08, 15-808, 15-447.01, 15-797, 15-816.01, 15-761, 15-902.04, 2023-2024, 2024-2025, 2025-2026, 15-944, 15-765, 15-751, 15-752, 15-753, 15-501, 15-771, 15-946, 15-945, 15-905.01, 38-502, 15-1102, 15-907, 15-916, 1988-1989, 1987-1988, 1990-1991, 1991-1992, 15-255